Systems and methods providing virtual distribution center inventory for localized fulfilment

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods which provide localized item procurement fulfilment using virtual distribution center inventory are described. For example, stocking locations of one or more intermediaries may provide virtual distribution center inventory for use by a supplier in facilitating localized item procurement fulfilment for acquirers. A supplier may provide a web based sales platform allowing acquirers to purchase items of the supplier&#39;s goods wherein the item procurement fulfilment is configured to utilize a network of intermediaries to facilitate competitive and satisfactory delivery timeframes, such as next day, same day, and even on-demand delivery of the goods, using economy shipping options. An intermediary may share inventory data and/or account information to facilitate operation of the web based sales platform to provide transparent and seamless order and/or checkout processing for items of the supplier&#39;s goods purchased by the acquirer that are to be fulfilled out of the intermediary&#39;s stocking location.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of and claims benefit ofpriority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/589,713, filed on May 8,2017, entitled “Systems and Methods Providing Virtual DistributionCenter Inventory for Localized Fulfilment,” the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to item procurement fulfilmentand, more particularly, to facilitating localized item procurementfulfilment using virtual distribution center inventory.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Goods are typically provided to various resellers to facilitateproviding the goods to their ultimate end users. For example,manufacturers often provide their goods to reseller retail locations forultimate sale to end users of the goods. Such reseller retail locationsare disposed more locally with respect to the end users, and thus mayfacilitate ready acquisition of the goods by such end users.

A common challenge experienced by manufacturers is establishing channelsfor the distribution of their goods through resellers. For example, manyof the resellers (e.g., independent retailers, small retail chains,etc.) are unknown to the manufacturer and thus the opportunity forestablishing a channel for distributing the manufacturer's goods thoughany such reseller may go unrealized, despite their being the potentialfor mutual benefit to the manufacturer and reseller were goods to beprovided through these resellers. Accordingly, manufacturers often offertheir goods directly to end users, such as through a web based directsales platform.

Although providing a means by which manufactures may expose their goodsto end users, manufacturers directly providing goods to end users is notwithout disadvantage. For example, the manufacturers' originationlocation for fulfilling orders to end users is more often than notdisposed remotely (often very remotely, such as in a different state orcountry) with respect to the end users. Accordingly, delivery of thegoods to an end user having used a manufacturer's direct channel betweenthe manufacturer and end user, may require a significant amount of time(e.g., days or weeks). Such remotely originated shipping of goods isparticularly problematic in the environment of web based direct sales,such as where end users of goods from throughout a large geographic areamay interface with a manufacturer's web based direct sales platform topurchase goods. In today's world of online marketplaces offering nextday, same day, and even on-demand or near on-demand (e.g., 2 hour, 1hour, and even less than 1 hour) delivery of goods, such remoteorigination of goods either provides unsatisfactory/uncompetitivedelivery timeframes (e.g., where economy shipping options are utilized)or require cost prohibitive/uncompetitive shipping services (e.g., whereovernight or priority shipping options are utilized). Moreover, amanufacturer offering their goods directly to end users, avoiding thereseller network, tends to discourage resellers from establishingchannels for the distribution of that manufacturer's goods due to a fearby resellers that their time and expense in stocking goods for localavailability to the end users will be undercut by direct sales to thoseend users by the manufacturer.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to systems and methods which providelocalized item procurement fulfilment using virtual distribution centerinventory. In accordance with embodiments of the invention,manufacturers and other sources of goods (collectively referred toherein as suppliers) cooperate with resellers and other distributers(collectively referred to herein as intermediaries) to utilize inventoryof the suppliers' goods held at the intermediaries' various retail,warehouse, or other distributed locations (collectively referred toherein as stocking locations) for providing localized item procurementfulfilment to end users or other procurers of items (collectivelyreferred to herein as acquirers). Accordingly, stocking locations of oneor more intermediaries may provide virtual distribution center inventoryfor use by a supplier in facilitating localized item procurementfulfilment for acquirers.

A supplier of embodiments of the invention provides their goods tointermediaries that stock items at one or more stocking locations forlater acquisition by acquirers. For example, an intermediary may stockvarious items of a supplier's goods at the intermediary's retaillocation for sale to acquirers in the normal course of theintermediary's business. Additionally or alternatively, an intermediarymay stock items of a supplier's goods at a warehouse or otherdistribution facility, such as for later distribution to theintermediary's retail locations, to provide bulk sales to acquirers, orfor other goods based transactions of the intermediary's business. Itshould be appreciated that such stocking locations, whether comprisingretail locations, distribution facilities, etc., are likely to bedistributed geographically with respect to the manufacturers'origination location, and thus may each be disposed more locally withrespect to some portion of the population of potential acquirers than isthe manufacturers' origination location.

In addition to providing their goods to intermediaries that stock itemsfor procuring by acquirers, a supplier of embodiments also providesmeans by which acquirers may interact directly with the supplier toprocure the manufacturer's goods. For example, a supplier may provide aweb based sales platform (e.g., an electronic commerce or “e-commerce”site) allowing acquirers to purchase items of the suppliers goods. Theitem procurement fulfilment provided according to embodiments of theinvention, however, is configured to utilize a network of intermediariesto benefit the supplier and acquirer by facilitating highly competitiveand satisfactory delivery timeframes, such as next day, same day, andeven on-demand (e.g., 2 hour, 1 hour, and even less than 1 hour)delivery of the goods, using economy shipping options (e.g., standardrate postal services shipped locally to the acquirers, delivery via rideshare services such as UBER and LYFT, local currier services, deliveryby intermediary personnel, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, itemprocurement fulfilment provided according to embodiments of theinvention allows acquirer pick up of items of the supplier's goods at anintermediary stocking location, at a locker or other pickup point, etc.local to the acquirer at the convenience of the acquirer. Moreover, theitem procurement fulfilment provided according to embodiments of theinvention is configured to benefit the intermediary by moving items ofthe supplier's goods in the intermediary's inventory to acquirers whileincluding the intermediary in the transaction (e.g., providing the saleof the item through the intermediary, exposing the intermediary to newcustomers, etc.) and thus benefits the supplier and intermediary byencouraging intermediaries to establish channels for the distribution ofthe supplier's goods.

In operation of embodiments of the invention, an intermediary elects tocooperate with a supplier in providing localized item procurementfulfilment using virtualized distribution center inventory. Suchcooperation may not only include an agreement to make items of thesupplier's goods from one or more stocking locations of the intermediaryavailable for use in localized item procurement fulfilment, but mayinclude sharing of information, providing integration of one or moresystems, etc. to facilitate localized item procurement fulfilment. Forexample, an intermediary may share inventory data (e.g., providingreal-time access to the intermediary's point of sale (POS) system) tofacilitate operation of the web based sales platform to providetransparent and seamless order processing wherein items of thesupplier's goods stocked at an intermediary's stocking location disposedlocally to the acquirer are known and thus this information may beleveraged in performing the transaction. Additionally or alternatively,an intermediary may share account information (e.g., deposit accountinformation, electronic funds transfer information, online paymentaccount information, etc.) such as to enable a checkout process for thesupplier's sale of goods using the web based sales platform to directpayment to the intermediary's account for items of the supplier's goodspurchased by the acquirer that are to be fulfilled out of theintermediary's stocking location.

As can be appreciated from the foregoing, operation according toembodiments of the invention utilizes inventory stocked byintermediaries as virtual distribution center inventory for transactionsinitiated via a supplier's platform. Using such distributed inventory ofthe supplier's goods, fulfilment of the items may nevertheless belocalized with respect to an acquirer, despite the supplier's ownorigination location for fulfilling orders being remote with respect tothe acquirer. Accordingly, embodiments provide a solution in whichlocalized item procurement fulfilment using virtual distribution centerinventory is provided that facilitates suppliers exposing their goods toacquires that may not otherwise have been exposed to the goods throughan intermediary while offering rapid, competitive fulfilment to theacquirer and satisfying needs of the intermediary.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of the present invention in order that the detaileddescription of the invention that follows may be better understood.Additional features and advantages of the invention will be describedhereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. Itshould be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conceptionand specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures for carrying out the samepurposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by thoseskilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic ofthe invention, both as to its organization and method of operation,together with further objects and advantages will be better understoodfrom the following description when considered in connection with theaccompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, thateach of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration anddescription only and is not intended as a definition of the limits ofthe present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference isnow made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a system configured to provide localized item procurementfulfilment using virtual distribution center inventory according toembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a high level flow diagram of operation to establish virtualdistribution center inventory for use in localized item procurementfulfilment according to embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 shows a high level flow diagram of operation to perform localizeditem procurement fulfilment functionality according to embodiments ofthe invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a system (shown as system 100) configured according toembodiments of the present invention to provide localized itemprocurement fulfilment using virtual distribution center inventory. Inparticular, system 100 of the illustrated embodiment is configured toenable suppliers to utilize inventory of the suppliers' goods held atintermediaries' various stocking locations for providing localized itemprocurement fulfilment to acquirers. In operation according toembodiments of system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 , an acquirer (e.g., enduser, buyer, consumer, etc.) may utilize a terminal or other device(e.g., acquirer system 121) to interact with a supplier (e.g.,manufacturer, importer/domestic source, etc.) through a web site orother interface (e.g., as may be provided by supplier system 111accessible via network 150) to select, purchase, or otherwise seek toprocure one or more items of the suppliers goods. System 100 of theillustrated embodiment is configured (e.g., including localized itemprocurement fulfilment system 131) to utilize inventory stocked byintermediaries at one or more intermediary stocking location (e.g.,intermediary stocking locations 140 a and 140 b) as virtual distributioncenter inventory for goods procurement transactions conducted with anacquirer. Accordingly, although the supplier's origination location forfulfilling orders (e.g., supplier location 110) is disposed remotelywith respect to the acquirer (e.g., acquirer location 120), fulfilmentof items is localized with respect to the acquirer using the distributedinventory of the supplier's goods at the intermediary's stockinglocation (e.g., intermediary stocking location 140 a).

In providing the foregoing localized item procurement fulfilmentfunctionality using virtual distribution center inventory, system 100 ofembodiments herein provides a system by which suppliers of goods andtheir network of intermediaries may cooperate to provide localized itemprocurement fulfilment as part of a transaction initiated by an acquirerusing the supplier's web site or other interface. Accordingly, system100 of embodiments comprises one or more processor-based systemsoperable to provide functionality in accordance with the conceptsdescribed herein.

Supplier system 111 may, for example, comprise one or moreprocessor-based systems (e.g., web server, electronic commerce server,computer workstation, enterprise computer network, user interfaceportal, etc.) in communication with network 150, such as for providingcommunication with any or all of acquirer system 121, localized itemprocurement fulfilment system 131, intermediary systems 141 a and 141 b,etc. Supplier system 111 of embodiments is configured to conduct itemprocurement transactions (e.g., e-commerce sales transactions, such asmay include order processing, payment processing, remittance tointermediaries or other parties for items sold, shipping/delivery labeland/or other documentation generation, etc.) with various acquirers ofthe supplier's goods (e.g., via acquirer system 121), to obtaininformation (e.g., via localized item procurement fulfilment system 131and/or appropriate ones of intermediary systems 141 a and 141 b)regarding inventory of items of the suppliers goods stocked atintermediary stocking locations, and to initiate localized itemprocurement fulfilment (e.g., in cooperation with acquirer system 120,localized item procurement fulfilment system 131 and/or appropriate onesof intermediary systems 140 a and 140 b). Accordingly, supplier system111 of embodiments may comprise a processor-based system operable undercontrol of an instruction set or instruction sets defining operation asdescribed herein. Supplier system 111 of embodiments comprises one ormore processors (e.g., a CORE or PENTIUM processor available from Intel,Inc.) and requisite processor readable (e.g., computer readable) memory(e.g., random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), flash memory,disk memory, solid state drive (SSD) memory, optical memory, and/or thelike) and input/output components (e.g., display, network interface card(NIC), keyboard, digital pointer, printer, and/or the like) coupled to aprocessor of the one or more processors via a data bus. It should beappreciated that the components of supplier system 111 may beimplemented as a single system, such as a single server, or as adistributed system, such as a server farm, a number of host systemsdisposed remotely with respect to each other, etc. Supplier system 111of embodiments may be integrated with one or more other systemsproviding functionality herein, such as localized item procurementfulfilment system 131. Moreover, it should be appreciated that althoughone supplier system is shown in FIG. 1 , any number and combination ofconfigurations of supplier systems, whether for a same or differentsuppliers, may be utilized according to embodiments.

Acquirer system 121 of embodiments herein provides a system by which anacquirer of goods may interact with a supplier of the goods via network150 to facilitate procuring goods by the acquirer whereby localized itemprocurement fulfilment may be provided according to the concepts herein.Additionally or alternatively, acquirer system 121 of embodiments isconfigured to perform functionality (e.g., in cooperation with one ormore of supplier system 111, localized item procurement fulfilmentsystem 131, and/or appropriate ones of intermediary systems 141 a and141 b) facilitating localized item procurement fulfilment in accordancewith the concepts herein. Accordingly, acquirer system 121 ofembodiments may comprise any number of system configurations used by auser for selecting, purchasing, or otherwise requesting one or moregoods to be procured by the acquirer from a supplier and/or forfacilitating localized item procurement fulfilment with respect to theone or more goods. For example, acquirer system 121 may comprise ageneral purpose processor-based system (e.g., personal computer (PC)having a processor, memory, suitable input/output (I/O) functionality,and operating system (OS)) operating under control of an instruction set(e.g., a client application such as a PC client, web client, mobileclient, tablet client, etc.) to interface with supplier system 111 andprovide operation as described herein. Additionally or alternatively,acquirer system 121 may comprise a processor-based mobile device such asa smart phone, a tablet device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), anInternet appliance (e.g., a processor-based electronic commerceappliance), etc., having the requisite instruction set and processingand I/O resources. It should be appreciated that although one acquirersystem is shown in FIG. 1 , any number and combination of configurationsof acquirer systems, whether for a same or different acquirers, may beaccommodated according to embodiments.

Intermediary systems 141 a and 141 b of embodiments herein comprise oneor more processor-based systems (e.g., web server, computer workstation,enterprise computer network, user interface portal, etc.) incommunication with network 150, such as for providing communication withany or all of supplier system 111, acquirer system 121, localized itemprocurement fulfilment system 131, other ones of intermediary systems140 a and 140 b, etc. Intermediary systems 141 a and 141 b ofembodiments are configured to provide information management functionswith respect to the intermediary's operations (e.g., configured toprovide enterprise resource planning (ERP) functionality, POSfunctionality, inventory management, payment processing, etc.) and/or tofacilitate localized item procurement fulfilment in accordance with theconcepts herein. For example, intermediary systems 141 a and 141 b maybe configured to provide information (e.g., to supplier system 111and/or localized item procurement fulfilment system 131) regardinginventory of items of the suppliers goods stocked at one or moreassociated intermediary stocking locations (e.g., intermediary stockinglocations 140 a and 140 b) and/or regarding intermediary accountinformation (e.g., information regarding an account suitable forreceiving payment for items procured using localized item procurementfulfilment). Additionally or alternatively, intermediary systems 141 aand 141 b of embodiments are configured to perform functionality (e.g.,in cooperation with one or more of supplier system 111, acquirer system121, localized item procurement fulfilment system 131, and/or other onesof intermediary systems 141 a and 141 b) facilitating localized itemprocurement fulfilment in accordance with the concepts herein.Accordingly, intermediary systems 141 a and 141 b of embodiments maycomprise one or more processor-based systems (e.g., web server, POSsystem, computer workstation, enterprise computer network, userinterface portal, etc.) in communication with network 150 operable undercontrol of an instruction set to provide operation as described herein.Intermediary systems 141 a and 141 b of embodiments comprise one or moreprocessors (e.g., a CORE or PENTIUM processor available from Intel,Inc.) and requisite processor readable (e.g., computer readable) memory(e.g., RAM, ROM, flash memory, disk memory, SSD memory, optical memory,and/or the like) and input/output components (e.g., display, NIC,keyboard, digital pointer, printer, and/or the like) coupled to aprocessor of the one or more processors via a data bus. It should beappreciated that although one intermediary system is shown with respectto each intermediary stocking location illustrated in FIG. 1 , anynumber and combination of configurations of intermediary systems may beprovided with respect to one or more such stocking locations. Moreover,intermediary systems of embodiments may be integrated with one or moreother systems providing functionality herein, such as supplier system111 and/or localized item procurement fulfilment system 131. Various ofthe intermediary systems may be for a same or different suppliersaccording to embodiments.

Localized item procurement fulfilment system 131 of embodiments hereinprovides a processor-based system implementing logic for facilitatinglocalized item procurement fulfilment as may be initiated in associationwith item procurement transactions performed by supplier system 111. Forexample, localized item procurement fulfilment system 131 of embodimentsis configured to analyze information (e.g., provided by supplier system111 and/or appropriate ones of intermediary systems 141 a and 141 b)regarding inventory of items of the suppliers goods stocked atintermediary stocking locations for determining if localized itemprocurement fulfilment is available with respect to a transaction, toidentify and/or select one or more intermediary stocking locations forproviding virtual distribution center inventory for a transaction, tofacilitate pick up or delivery from one or more selected intermediarystocking locations of items for a transaction, etc. Localized itemprocurement fulfilment system 131 of embodiments may utilize accountinformation (e.g., deposit account information, electronic fundstransfer information, online payment account information, etc.) forintermediaries to facilitate payment to the intermediary's account foritems of the supplier's goods purchased by the acquirer that are to befulfilled out of the intermediary's stocking location. Accordingly,localized item procurement system 131 of embodiments comprises one ormore processor-based systems (e.g., web server, control portal, etc.) incommunication with supplier system 111, acquirer system 121, and/orintermediary systems 141 a and 141 b via network 150. Localized itemprocurement system 131 of embodiments comprises one or more processors(e.g., a CORE or PENTIUM processor available from Intel, Inc.) andrequisite processor readable (e.g., computer readable) memory (e.g.,RAM, ROM, flash memory, disk memory, SSD memory, optical memory, and/orthe like) and input/output components (e.g., display, NIC, keyboard,digital pointer, printer, and/or the like) coupled to a processor of theone or more processors via a data bus configured to provide operation asdescribed herein. It should be appreciated that the components oflocalized item procurement fulfilment system 131 may be implemented as asingle system, such as a single server, or as a distributed system, suchas a server farm, a number of systems disposed remotely with respect toeach other, etc. Localized item procurement fulfilment system 131 ofembodiments may be integrated with one or more other systems providingfunctionality herein, such as supplier system 111 and/or any or all ofintermediary systems 141 a and 141 b. Moreover, it should be appreciatedthat although one localized item procurement fulfilment system is shownin FIG. 1 , any number and combination of configurations of localizeditem procurement fulfilment systems may be utilized according toembodiments.

Network 150 provides communication links with respect to and betweensupplier systems, acquirer systems, localized item procurementfulfilment systems, and/or intermediary systems for facilitatingoperation as described herein. Accordingly, the links of network 150 areoperable to provide suitable communication links for facilitatingcooperative interaction and data transfer as described with respect toembodiments of the invention. Network 150 of embodiments may thuscomprise one or more of a local area network (LAN), metropolitan areanetwork (MAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless LAN (WLAN), theInternet, intranet, extranet, cable transmission system, cellularcommunication network, the public switched telephone network (PSTN),and/or the like.

Having described the localized item procurement fulfilment systemconfiguration illustrated in FIG. 1 , operation of system 100 to providelocalized item procurement fulfilment with respect to one or more itemsto be procured by an acquirer according to embodiments of the inventionis described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 . In particular, FIG. 2provides an exemplary high level flow diagram showing operationaccording to embodiments with respect to establishing virtualdistribution center inventory for use in localized item procurementfulfilment. FIG. 3 provides an exemplary high level flow diagram showingoperation according to embodiments with respect to logic of system 100performing localized item procurement fulfilment functionality.

FIG. 2 shows flow 200 providing operation according to embodiments ofthe invention for establishing virtual distribution center inventoryavailable for localized item procurement fulfilment in accordance withthe concepts herein. In operation of the illustrated embodiments of flow200, an intermediary elects to cooperate with a supplier in providinglocalized item procurement fulfilment at block 201. For example,personnel of the intermediary may interface with suppler system 111and/or localized item procurement fulfilment system 131, such as usingone or intermediary systems 141 a or 141 b, and indicate an election toallow items of the supplier's goods stocked at one or more intermediarystocking locations to be utilized as virtual distribution centerinventory in fulfilling orders made by acquires to the supplier. Inelecting to cooperate in providing localized item procurementfulfilment, the intermediary may elect to provide cooperativeparticipation with respect to all goods obtained by the intermediaryfrom the supplier (e.g., all individual items without minimum inventoryreserves, all types of items, etc.) and/or with respect to all stockinglocations of the intermediary (e.g., all locations having items forwhich cooperative participation is elected). Alternatively, theintermediary may elect to provide cooperative participation with respectto some subset of goods obtained by the intermediary from the supplier(e.g., individual items stocked in quantities in excess of a minimumthreshold, particular types of items, items experiencing inventoryturnover rates in excess of a threshold period, etc.) and/or withrespect to some subset of stocking locations of the intermediary (e.g.,only retail locations having items for which cooperative participationis elected, locations in particular geographic areas, locationsexperiencing inventory turnover rates in excess of a threshold period,etc.).

The intermediary having elected to cooperate with a supplier inproviding localized item procurement fulfilment, flow 200 of theillustrated embodiment proceeds to block 202 wherein the intermediaryprovides information, resource access, etc. (e.g., as may includeenabling an application programming interface (API) for accessing one ormore intermediary system, providing access credentials and other usefulinformation, and/or the like) for facilitating the localized itemprocurement fulfilment. For example, to facilitate use of items of thesupplier's goods from one or more stocking locations of the intermediaryin localized item procurement fulfilment according to embodimentsherein, supplier system 111 and/or localized item procurement fulfilmentsystem 131 may utilize information regarding the intermediary'sinventory of the supplier's goods at particular stocking locations,information regarding one or more intermarry accounts, the physicallocation of the participating stocking locations, the shipping servicesavailable from the participating stocking locations, the capabilitiesand/or timeline for intermediary personnel preparing items of the goodsfor providing to an acquirer (e.g., time for picking, packaging,make-ready, shipping, etc.), shipper pick-up schedules at theparticipating stocking locations, the hours of operation of theintermediary stocking location, and the like. Additionally oralternatively, to facilitate use of items of the supplier's goods fromone or more stocking locations of the intermediary in localized itemprocurement fulfilment according to embodiments herein, supplier system111 and/or localized item procurement fulfilment system 131 may utilizeaccess to various ones of the intermediary's resources, such as accessto information management systems of the intermediary (e.g., inventory,accounting, database, POS, and/or ERP systems, such as may be used forobtaining inventory information, for checkout process integration, forproviding remittance for items of the goods sold to acquirers by thesupplier, etc.), one or more accounts of the intermediary (e.g., depositaccount, online payment account, etc., such as may be used forremittance for items of the goods sold to acquirers by the supplier),devices of the intermediary (e.g., printers, shipping labelgenerators/printers, pick-ticket schedulers, etc., such as may be usedfor providing picking and packing instructions, invoices, shippinglabels, etc.), and the like. From the foregoing, it can be appreciatedthat operation at block 202 of embodiments may thus provide informationto supplier system 111 and/or localized item procurement fulfilmentsystem 131 (e.g., as may be stored in one or more database, such asdatabase 132) and/or enable access to one or more of intermediary'sresources to supplier system 111 and/or localized item procurementfulfilment system 131 for use in localized item procurement fulfilmentherein.

At block 203 of the embodiment of flow 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 , theintermediary obtains goods from the supplier. For example, personnel ofthe intermediary may utilize one or more of intermediary systems 141 aand 141 b to interface with a wholesale order processing application ofsupplier system 111 to order items of goods 112 available from thesupplier. Items of goods 112 purchased from the supplier by theintermediary may, for example, be shipped from supplier location 110 toappropriate ones of intermediary locations 140 a and 140 b (e.g., asdesignated by the intermediary in their order of the items) via anynumber of suitable means, such as shipping service provider 161 (e.g.,United States postal service (USPS), United Parcel Service (UPS),Federal Express (FedEx), commercial trucking company, air freightservice, rail-freight company, etc.).

The intermediary may thus be provided with stock of one or more items ofthe supplier's goods at stocking locations 140 a and/or 140 b (e.g.,items of goods 142 a stocked at intermediary stocking location 140 a anditems of goods 142 b stocked at intermediary stocking location 142 b) atblock 204 of flow 200. For example, an intermediary may stock variousitems of a supplier's goods at one or more of intermediary stockinglocations 140 a and 140 b for sale to acquirers in the normal course ofthe intermediary's business, for later distribution to theintermediary's retail locations, to provide bulk sales to acquirers, orfor other goods based transactions of the intermediary's business.However, in association with the intermediary having elected tocooperate with the supplier in providing localized item procurementfulfilment, items of goods 142 a and/or 142 b stocked at a respectiveone of intermediary stocking locations 140 a and 140 b are available tobe utilized as virtual distribution center inventory in fulfillingorders made by acquires to the supplier according to concepts of thepresent invention.

Operation at block 204 may, in addition to the act of holding the goodsfor availability to acquirers, include operation to facilitate the useof the stocked items for localized item procurement fulfilment. Forexample, one or more of intermediary systems 141 a and 141 b may fromtime to time provide inventory information to supplier system 111 and/orlocalized item procurement fulfilment system 131 for enabling localizeditem procurement fulfilment functionality thereof to have informationregarding available virtual distribution center inventory. In operationaccording to embodiments, one or more of intermediary systems 141 a and141 b may utilize the aforementioned API, or other suitable interface,to provide real-time or near real-time inventory information to suppliersystem 111 and/or localized item procurement fulfilment system 131(e.g., an inventory system operable upon intermediary systems 141 aand/or 141 b may provide information regarding the current quantities ofparticular items of the supplier's goods stocked at one or moreintermediary stocking locations available as virtual distribution centerinventory as transactions are processed affecting the quantities).Accordingly, supplier system 111 and/or localized item procurementfulfilment system 131 may be provided with inventory information, forfacilitating localized item procurement fulfilment using virtualdistribution center inventory provided by the intermediary's inventory,through implementation of computer resources providing improved resourceutilization, communication efficiency, and data timeliness (e.g., ascompared to an implementation requiring polling of intermediary systemswhen determinations regarding fulfilment are being made by the suppliersystem and/or localized item procurement fulfilment system).

Supplier location 110 of FIG. 1 may be disposed remotely with respect toacquirer location 120, and thus delivery of goods from the supplier tothe acquirer (e.g., where the acquirer purchases goods directly from thesupplier, such as using a web based direct sales platform) may require asignificant amount of time (e.g., days or weeks). However, intermediarystocking locations of embodiments herein are likely to be distributedgeographically with respect to supplier location 110, and thus may eachbe disposed more locally with respect to some portion of the populationof potential acquirers than is the supplier location. Accordingly, oneor more of intermediary stocking locations 141 a and 141 b may bedisposed locally, or sufficiently near, to acquirer location 120 toprovide advantages in originating items of the supplier's goods fromsuch intermediary stocking locations for procurement fulfilment withrespect to the acquirer.

For example, in some situations, intermediary stocking location 141 amay be disposed very near acquirer location 120 (e.g., within 1 mile,such as being disposed in the same neighborhood, on the same block, orin the same building), enabling the acquirer to readily pick up itemsfrom the intermediary stocking location personally, personnel of theintermediary stocking location providing delivery of items to theacquirer location, or a ride sharing service to provide delivery ofitems to the acquirer location. The foregoing fulfilment optionsfacilitate providing same day, on-demand (e.g., less than 1 hour), andnear on-demand (e.g., 2 hour or 1 hour) delivery/acquisition of goods.Further, situations in which the intermediary stocking location isdisposed very near the acquirer location may enable a shipping serviceprovider to provide local delivery service of items to the acquirerlocation without traversing a centralized shipping service provider hub,thus facilitating providing relatively rapid (e.g., overnight and evensame day) and economical (e.g., local or intra-zone shipping rates,without surcharge for expedited delivery) delivery of goods to theacquirer location.

In other situations, intermediary stocking location 141 a may, forexample, be disposed near acquirer location 120 (e.g., within 10 milesbut more than 1 mile away, such as being disposed in the same town, inthe same borough, on the same base or compound, or within the same ZIPcode), providing an opportunity for the acquirer to pick up items fromthe intermediary stocking location personally or personnel of theintermediary stocking location providing delivery of items to theacquirer location, and enabling a ride sharing service to providedelivery of items to the acquirer location. The foregoing fulfilmentoptions facilitate providing same day and near on-demand (e.g., 2 houror 1 hour) delivery/acquisition of goods. Further, situations in whichthe intermediary stocking location is disposed near the acquirerlocation may enable a shipping service provider to provide localdelivery service of items to the acquirer location without traversing acentralized shipping service provider hub or to otherwise provideeconomic delivery services to the acquirer location with respect toitems, thus facilitating providing relatively rapid (e.g., overnight andeven same day) and economical (e.g., local or intra-zone shipping rates,without surcharge for expedited delivery) delivery of goods to theacquirer location.

In still other situations, intermediary stocking location 141 a may, forexample, be disposed relatively near acquirer location 120 (e.g., within100 miles but more than 10 miles away, such as being disposed in thesame county, in the same city, in the same metropolitan area, or withinthe same zone of a shipping service provider) providing a possibilityfor the acquirer to pick up items from the intermediary stockinglocation personally or personnel of the intermediary stocking locationproviding delivery of items to the acquirer location, and providing anopportunity for a ride sharing service to provide delivery of items tothe acquirer location. The foregoing fulfilment options facilitateproviding same day delivery of goods to the acquirer location. Further,situations in which the intermediary stocking location is disposedrelatively near the acquirer location may enable a shipping serviceprovider to provide economical (e.g., intra-zone or adjacent zoneshipping rates, possibly without surcharge for expedited delivery)delivery of goods to the acquirer location.

As can be appreciated from the foregoing, the relative proximity ofcertain ones of the intermediary stocking locations can provideappreciable advantages, as compared to the supplier location, withrespect to procurement times and/or expense associated with goodsprocured by an acquirer from a supplier. Accordingly, embodiments of thepresent invention are configured to utilize virtual distribution centerinventory provided by intermediary stocking locations in providinglocalized item procurement fulfilment according to the concepts herein.

FIG. 3 shows flow 300 providing operation according to embodiments ofthe invention for localized item procurement fulfilment in accordancewith the concepts herein. In operation of the illustrated embodiments offlow 300, an acquirer initiates a transaction for purchase of goods fromthe supplier at block 301. For example, an acquirer may utilize acquirersystem 121 (e.g., using an appropriate user interface, such as providedby a web browser, local client application, applet, etc.) to access aweb based sales platform hosted by supplier system 111 for purchasingitems of the suppliers goods. The acquirer may indicate a selection oneor more items of the supplier's goods for purchase and delivery to theacquirer in the transaction. Moreover, as part of the transactionprocessing the acquirer may provide various information useful infacilitating procurement of the items of the supplier's goods, such asto provide account information (e.g., a customer account proving paymentinformation, shipping address information, shipping and/or deliverypreference information, etc.), payment (e.g., electronic funds transfer,online payment, etc.), shipping/acquisition information (e.g., desiredtime period for delivery, shipping service provider selection, specialservices selection/preference, etc.), and/or the like.

In operation according to the illustrated embodiment, a determination ismade at block 302 as to whether virtual distribution center inventorysuitable for use in the transaction is available. For example, suppliersystem 111 may interact with localized item procurement fulfilmentsystem 131 to determine if one or more items of the goods to bepurchased by the acquirer are available in stock at an appropriatelylocated stocking location. In operation according to embodiments,supplier system 111 may provide information regarding items requested bythe acquirer, the location of the acquirer, shipping and/or deliverypreferences or parameters for the acquirer, etc. to localized itemprocurement fulfilment system 131 for use in determining if suitablevirtual distribution center inventory is available for use in theacquirer's transaction. For example, logic of localized item procurementfulfilment system 131 may utilize information (e.g., as may be stored indatabase 132 and/or available through access to one or more of theintermediary's systems, such as ERP, POS, and inventory managementsystems, such as using access information, credentials, etc. previouslyprovided by the intermediary, as may be stored in database 132)regarding items of the supplier's goods stocked at various intermediarystocking locations to determine if items of goods matching thoseselected by the acquirer are available (e.g., stocked in sufficientquantity so as to be in excess of any applicable minimum threshold for aparticular stocking location) and can meet the acquirer's procurementpreferences/requirements (e.g., delivery timeframe, specialshipping/delivery services, etc.). In operation according toembodiments, one or more of intermediary systems 141 a and 141 b mayprovide localized item procurement fulfilment system 131 with inventoryinformation, such as via an API or other interface, in real-time or nearreal-time as transactions are processed affecting the quantities of theitems to facilitate supplier system 111 and localized item procurementfulfilment system 131 performing localized item procurement fulfilmentfunctionality in a single real-time session (e.g., avoiding the suppliersystem initiating a fulfilment transaction and thereafter waiting anappreciable amount of time for the localized item procurement fulfilmentsystem to determine if virtual distribution center inventory isavailable for the transaction, whereby the supplier system may only thencomplete processing of the transaction), thereby providing improved,efficient, and real-time computing resource utilization. Moreover,operation according to the foregoing embodiments facilitates presentingoptions to the acquirer, such as by a user interface of acquirer system121, during the acquisition transaction, thereby providing increaseduser satisfaction as well as improved (reduced) communication resourceutilization.

Where, for example, the acquirer indicates acquirer location 120 fordelivery of supplier's goods in the transaction, logic of localized itemprocurement system 131 of embodiments may identify one or moreintermediary stocking locations for one or more intermediaries that arelocated very near, near, and/or even relatively near acquirer location120 (e.g., depending upon the proximity to the acquirer supportingdelivery within a specified delivery timeframe) as candidate stockinglocations for providing virtual distribution center inventory for use inthe transaction. Logic of localized item procurement system 131 ofembodiments may analyze information for one or more candidate stockinglocations (e.g., as may be stored in database 132) to determine whetheritems of goods matching those selected by the acquirer are available foruse in localized item procurement fulfilment and whether use of theparticular stocking location will otherwise meet parameters of thetransaction. For example, logic of localized item procurement fulfilmentsystem 131 may analyze information regarding the location of thecandidate stocking locations relative to the acquirer location, theavailable routes between candidate stocking locations and the acquirerlocation, the shipping services available from the candidate stockinglocations, the capabilities and/or timeline for intermediary personnelof the candidate stocking locations preparing items of the goods forproviding to an acquirer, shipper pick-up schedules at the candidatestocking locations, the hours of operation of the candidate stockinglocation, and/or the like to determine if items of the supplier's goodsstocked at one or more intermediary stocking location may be used tomeet procurement fulfilment parameters for the transaction. Localizedprocurement fulfilment system 131 may provide information indicatingwhether virtual distribution center inventory suitable for use in thetransaction is available to supplier system 111 to direct furtherprocessing with respect to the transaction for purchase of goods fromthe supplier by the acquirer.

In accordance with the illustrated embodiment of flow 300, if it isdetermined at block 302 that virtual distribution center inventorysuitable for use in the transaction is not available processing proceedsto block 306 wherein further processing with respect to the transactionfor purchase of goods from the supplier is performed so that items ofthe goods are fulfilled using supplier inventory. For example, one ormore items of goods 112 stocked at supplier location 110 meeting thegoods selected by the acquirer may be utilized to fulfil thetransaction. Items of goods 112 purchased from the supplier by theacquirer may, for example, be shipped from supplier location 110 toacquirer location 120 (e.g., as designated by the acquirer in theirorder of the items) via any number of suitable means, such as shippingservice provider 161 (e.g., USPS, UPS, FedEx, commercial truckingcompany, air freight service, rail-freight company, etc.).

However, if it is determined at block 302 that virtual distributioncenter inventory suitable for use in the transaction is availableprocessing proceeds to block 303 wherein further processing with respectto the transaction for purchase of goods from the supplier is performedso that items of the goods are fulfilled using virtual distributioncenter inventory. For example, it may be determined that sufficientquantity of items of the supplier's goods are available at intermediarystocking location 141 a disposed in very near, near, or relatively nearproximity to acquirer location and thus processing proceeds tofacilitate localized item procurement fulfilment using virtualdistribution center inventory comprising items of goods 142 a stocked atintermediary stocking location 140 a.

Processing with respect to the transaction for purchase of goods fromthe supplier performed at block 303 to facilitate items of the goodsbeing fulfilled using virtual distribution center inventory may, forexample, comprise offering the acquirer fulfilment using localized itemprocurement fulfilment. In operation according to embodiments, a webbased sales platform hosted by supplier system 111 of embodiments mayprovide an indication to the acquirer that localized item procurementfulfilment is available with respect to one or more items of thesupplier's goods being purchased by the acquirer. As one example,fulfilment options suitable for use in fulfilling the transaction (e.g.,each suitable fulfilment option, fulfilment options meeting one or morepreference of the acquirer, a least expensive fulfilment option, etc.),possibly including one or more supplier fulfilled options (e.g.,shipping of items of goods 112 from shipper location 110) and/or one ormore virtual distribution center inventory fulfilled options (e.g.,shipping of items of goods 142 a from intermediary location 140 a,acquirer pick-up of items of goods 142 a at intermediary location 140 a,etc.) may be presented to the acquirer, such as by a user interface ofacquirer system 121. In operation according to embodiments, a suppliermay elect not to present supplier fulfilled options where one or morevirtual distribution center inventory fulfilled options are available,such as to encourage intermediaries establishing channels for thedistribution of that supplier's without fear by the intermediaries thattheir time and expense in stocking goods for local availability will beundercut by direct sales by the supplier.

When the fulfilment options suitable for use in fulfilling thetransaction presented to the acquirer include one or more virtualdistribution center inventory fulfilled options, the virtualdistribution center inventory fulfilled options may or may not bedesignated as such to the acquirer. For example, virtual distributioncenter inventory fulfilled options may be distinguished from supplierfulfilled options presented to the acquirer to allow the acquirer toselect sourcing of items of the goods from the supplier or from anintermediary. Alternatively, supplier fulfilled options and virtualdistribution center inventory fulfilled options may not be distinguishedso as to provide no indication regarding the sourcing of items of thegoods.

Examples of the virtual distribution center inventory fulfilment optionsoffered to the acquirer where intermediary stocking location 141 aproviding virtual distribution center inventory is disposed very nearacquirer location 120 may include same day, on-demand (e.g., less than 1hour), and near on-demand (e.g., 2 hour or 1 hour) delivery/acquisitionof goods (e.g., fulfilment options such as the acquirer picks up itemsfrom the intermediary stocking location personally, personnel of theintermediary stocking location delivering items to the acquirerlocation, and a ride sharing service to delivering items to the acquirerlocation) as well as economical shipping service provider servicesproviding timely delivery of goods (e.g., fulfilment options such as ashipping service provider providing two day, overnight, or same daydelivery service at local or intra-zone shipping rates, withoutsurcharge for expedited delivery). As a further example, whereintermediary stocking location 141 a providing virtual distributioncenter inventory is disposed near acquirer location 120, the virtualdistribution center inventory fulfilment options offered to the acquirermay include same day and near on-demand (e.g., 2 hour or 1 hour)delivery/acquisition of goods (e.g., fulfilment options such as theacquirer picks up items from the intermediary stocking locationpersonally, personnel of the intermediary stocking location deliveringitems to the acquirer location, and a ride sharing service deliveringitems to the acquirer location) as well as economical shipping serviceprovider services providing timely delivery of goods (e.g., fulfilmentoptions such as a shipping service provider providing two day,overnight, or same day delivery service at local or intra-zone shippingrates, without surcharge for expedited delivery). As a still furtherexample, where intermediary stocking location 141 a providing virtualdistribution center inventory is disposed relatively near acquirerlocation 120, the virtual distribution center inventory fulfilmentoptions offered to the acquirer may include same daydelivery/acquisition of goods (e.g., fulfilment options such as theacquirer picks up items from the intermediary stocking locationpersonally, personnel of the intermediary stocking location deliveringitems to the acquirer location, and a ride sharing service deliveringitems to the acquirer location) as well as economical shipping serviceprovider services providing timely delivery of goods (e.g., fulfilmentoptions such as a shipping service provider providing two day orovernight delivery service at local or intra-zone shipping rates,without surcharge for expedited delivery).

It should be appreciated that, although the above examples of virtualdistribution center inventory fulfilment delivery options provide fordelivery of items of the supplier's goods to the acquirer location,embodiments herein may provide for delivery to locations other than theacquirer's location. For example, various of the virtual distributioncenter inventory fulfilment delivery options (e.g., personnel of theintermediary stocking location delivering items to the acquirerlocation, a ride sharing service to delivering items to the acquirerlocation, and a shipping service provider providing delivery service)may provide delivery of items of the supplier's goods to a locker orother pickup point local to the acquirer, such as for pick up at theconvenience of the acquirer.

Having presented one or more fulfilment options suitable for use infulfilling the transaction to the acquirer at block 303, processingaccording to the illustrated embodiment of flow 300 proceeds to block304 wherein a determination is made as to whether a localized itemprocurement fulfilment option is selected for fulfilling thetransaction. For example, the acquirer may utilize acquirer system 121to indicate a selection of a fulfilment option (e.g., selecting aparticular one of a plurality of fulfilment options presented, selectinga sole presented fulfilment option as being acceptable, etc.) to a webbased sales platform hosted by supplier system 111.

In accordance with the illustrated embodiment of flow 300, if it isdetermined at block 304 that a fulfilment option using virtualdistribution center inventory has not been selected processing proceedsto block 306 wherein further processing with respect to the transactionfor purchase of goods from the supplier is performed so that items ofthe goods are fulfilled using supplier inventory. For example, one ormore items of goods 112 stocked at supplier location 110 meeting thegoods selected by the acquirer may be utilized to fulfil the transactionand items shipped from supplier location 110 to acquirer location 120 asdescribed above.

However, if it is determined at block 304 that a fulfilment option usingvirtual distribution center inventory has been selected processingproceeds to block 305 wherein further processing with respect to thetransaction for purchase of goods from the supplier is performed so thatitems of the goods are fulfilled using virtual distribution centerinventory. For example, it may be determined that a fulfilment optionselected by the acquirer, or as otherwise to be utilized in fulfillingthe transaction, is to utilize virtual distribution center inventoryprovided by items of the supplier's goods at intermediary stockinglocation 141 a and thus processing proceeds to facilitate fulfilment ofthe transaction by the intermediary using items of goods 142 a and/orfacilitate remittance for the items to the intermediary. Accordingly, adetermination at block 304 that virtual distribution center inventory isto be used to fulfil an item acquisition transaction operates tooverride the sequence of events conventionally implemented when anacquirer interacts directly with the supplier to procure themanufacturer's goods (i.e., items of the goods are fulfilled usingsupplier inventory) to instead fulfill items of the goods from one ormore intermediary stocking locations for providing localized itemprocurement fulfilment to acquirers.

Operation at block 305 according to embodiments of the inventionprovides for reserving the appropriate items of the supplier's goodsfrom the stock at the appropriate intermediary stocking location,initiating picking of the items from the stock for shipping or pick upby the acquirer, facilitating preparing of the items for shipping orpickup, etc. For example, supplier system 111 may interact withlocalized item procurement fulfilment system 131 to designate the itemsof the supplier's goods from goods 142 a at intermediary stockinglocation 140 a as reserved for fulfilling the acquirer's transaction. Inoperation for reserving the appropriate items of the supplier's goodsfrom the stock at the appropriate intermediary stocking locationaccording to embodiments, localized item procurement fulfilment system131 may access (e.g., using access information, credentials, etc.previously provided by the intermediary, as may be stored in database132, and/or APIs, portals, etc. previously enabled by the intermediary)one or more of the intermediary's systems, such as ERP, POS, andinventory management systems, to designate an appropriate quantity ofitems as reserved or held for localized item procurement fulfilment.Additionally or alternatively, communication outside of such inventoryinformation management systems may be utilized in reserving theappropriate items, such as by localized item procurement fulfilmentsystem 131 providing a text message, email message, fax, or othercommunication to intermediary stocking location 140 a and/or appropriatepersonnel associated therewith. In operation for initiating picking ofthe items from the stock for shipping or pick up by the acquireraccording to embodiments, localized item procurement fulfilment system131 may access one or more of the intermediary's system resources, suchas ERP, POS, and inventory management system, and/or one or more devicesof the intermediary, such as a printer, a pick-ticket scheduler, etc.,to cause picking and packing instructions to be presented, to initiateprinting of pick tickets, packing lists, etc. at intermediary stockinglocation 140 a. Additionally or alternatively, communications providedby localized item procurement fulfilment system 131 to intermediarystocking location 140 a and/or appropriate personnel associatedtherewith, such as the above described text messages, email messages,faxes, etc., may be utilized for initiating picking of the items fromthe stock for shipping or pick up by the acquirer (e.g., to notifypersonnel to pick items of the goods, to provide instructions regardinghandling or holding items of the goods for acquisition by the acquirer,etc.). In operation for facilitating preparing of the items for shippingor pick up by the acquirer according to embodiments, localized itemprocurement fulfilment system 131 may access one or more of theintermediary's system resources, such as ERP, POS, and inventorymanagement system, and/or one or more devices of the intermediary, suchas printer, shipping label generator/printer, and pick-ticket scheduler,to initiate printing of invoices, shipping labels, packing lists, etc.at intermediary stocking location 140 a. Additionally or alternatively,communications provided by localized item procurement fulfilment system131 to intermediary stocking location 140 a and/or appropriate personnelassociated therewith, such as the above described text messages, emailmessages, faxes, etc., may be utilized for facilitating preparing of theitems for shipping or pick up by the acquirer (e.g., to notify personnelto provide items of the goods to the acquirer or a driver of a ridesharing service when they present themselves at the stocking location,to provide instructions shipping items of the goods to the acquirer,etc.).

Operation at block 305 according to embodiments of the inventionadditionally or alternatively provides for transparent and seamlessorder processing with respect to items of the supplier's goods fulfilledfrom the stock at the appropriate intermediary stocking location. Forexample, supplier system 111 may interact with acquirer system 121 toimplement a web based sales platform checkout process for the supplier'ssale of goods wherein the acquirer tenders payment for the transaction.Where items of the goods are to be fulfilled using virtual distributioncenter inventory, supplier system 111 may operate to facilitateremittance or compensation to the intermediary for items of the goodsprocured by the acquirer in the localized item procurement fulfilment.For example, supplier system 111 may interact with localized itemprocurement fulfilment system 131 to perform a checkout process thatdirects payment to the intermediary's account for items of thesupplier's goods purchased by the acquirer that are to be fulfilled outof the intermediary's stocking location. In operation for performing acheckout process that directs payment to the intermediary's accountaccording to embodiments, localized item procurement fulfilment system131 may utilize intermediary account information (e.g., deposit accountinformation, electronic funds transfer information, online paymentaccount information, etc.) to make payment to the intermediary as partof an electronic commerce transaction implemented by a web based salesplatform of supplier system 111. Additionally or alternatively,transparent and seamless order processing may be provided with respectto the payment for items of the supplier's goods fulfilled from goods142 a using a checkout process integrated with one or more of theintermediary's systems, such as ERP, POS, and inventory managementsystems. In operation according to embodiments, localized itemprocurement fulfilment system 131 provides integration between suppliersystem 111 and intermediary system 141 a whereby the acquirer checkingout through a web based sales platform hosted by the supplier systemperforms checkout processing using the checkout process of intermediarysystem 141 a (e.g., an API enabled by the intermediary may be utilizedto enable remote checkout processing functionality of the intermediaryavailable to the acquirer via the supplier system). Order processingwith respect to items of the supplier's goods fulfilled from the stockof the intermediary's stocking location may additionally oralternatively include communication outside of such an integratedcheckout process, such as by supplier system 111 and/or localized itemprocurement fulfilment system 131 providing a text message, emailmessage, fax, or other communication providing transaction processinginformation (e.g., purchase order, automated clearing house (ACH)payment processing confirmation, statement of account, etc.) tointermediary stocking location 140 a and/or appropriate personnelassociated therewith. The checkout process may, for example, provide fora supplier credit to the intermediary rather than a transfer of funds tothe intermediary as part of the checkout process implemented accordingto embodiments.

Further, operation at block 305 of embodiments herein providesfunctionality for facilitating pickup and/or delivery of items of thesupplier's goods from the stock at the intermediary stocking location.For example, where the acquirer elects to pick up items of thesupplier's goods from the intermediary's stocking location, suppliersystem 111 and/or localized item procurement fulfilment system 131 mayprovide information to facilitate the acquirer picking up the items,such as by providing information (e.g., the address of the appropriatestocking location, directions from the acquirer location to theappropriate stocking location, hours of operation for making the pickup,proof of payment for obtaining the purchased items, etc.) to acquirersystem 121 as part of the purchase transaction. Additionally oralternatively, communication outside of the acquirer system interactionin the purchase transaction, such as providing a text message, emailmessage, fax, or other communication directed to the acquirer, may beprovided for facilitating the acquirer picking up the items.

Where the fulfilment of the purchase transaction provides for deliveryof items of the suppliers goods to the acquirer from the intermediary'sstocking location (i.e., localized item procurement fulfilment usingvirtual distribution center inventory provided by the intermediary'sstocking location), the functionality provided by operation at block 305may include supplier system 111 and/or localized item procurementfulfilment system 131 providing information to the intermediary and/orone or more third party to facilitate delivery of items of the goodsfrom the intermediary's stocking location to the acquirer's location.For example, where items of the supplier's goods are to be delivered byintermediary personnel (e.g., using personal conveyance 161), suppliersystem 111 and/or localized item procurement fulfilment system 131 mayprovide information (e.g., the address of the acquirer location orlocker or other acquirer pickup point, directions from the stockinglocation to the acquirer location or locker or other acquirer pickuppoint, requested delivery timeframe, hours of availability of theacquirer, packing list, etc.) to intermediary system 141 a forfacilitating delivery of items of the supplier's goods from the stock atthe intermediary stocking location. Similarly, where items of thesupplier's goods are to be delivered by third party personnel (e.g., aride share service or courier service using service vehicle 162, ashipping service provider, commercial trucking company, air freightservice, or rail-freight company using rolling stock 163, etc.),supplier system 111 and/or localized item procurement fulfilment system131 may provide information (e.g., dispatch request for the shipment,shipping label information, proof of payment/postage indiciuminformation, the address of the acquirer location or locker or otheracquirer pickup point, requested delivery timeframe, etc.) to one ormore third party system (e.g., shipping services system, not shown) forfacilitating delivery of items of the supplier's goods from the stock atthe intermediary stocking location. Communications in addition or in thealternative to the examples above may be utilized for facilitatingdelivery of items of the supplier's goods, such as providing textmessages, email messages, faxes, or other communications directed to theintermediary personnel, third party delivery personnel, etc.

It should be appreciated that facilitating delivery of items of thesupplier's goods at block 305 of embodiments may comprise functionalityin addition to or in the alternative to the above described exemplaryinformation communication. For example, supplier system 111 and/orlocalized item procurement fulfilment system 131 may operate to providepayment to a delivery service provider, intermediary personnel providingthe delivery, etc. In operation according to embodiments, localized itemprocurement fulfilment system 131 may interface with one or moreshipping service payment system, such as a postage indicia system (e.g.,the Internet based postage on demand system provided by Stamps.comInc.), to provide for delivery service payment.

As can be appreciated from the foregoing exemplary operation accordingto flow 300 of the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 3 , embodiments of thelocalized item procurement fulfilment configuration illustrated in FIG.1 utilize inventory stocked by an intermediary as virtual distributioncenter inventory for the purchase transaction initiated using theacquirer system and supplier system. Accordingly, items of thesupplier's goods distributed throughout a network of intermediaries thatstock inventory may be utilized to provide fulfilment of the items thatis localized with respect to acquirers, despite the supplier's ownorigination location for fulfilling orders being remote with respect tothe acquirers.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, thescope of the present application is not intended to be limited to theparticular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, compositionof matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. Asone of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from thedisclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing orlater to be developed that perform substantially the same function orachieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodimentsdescribed herein may be utilized according to the present invention.Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within theirscope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter,means, methods, or steps.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: storing, by a suppliersystem, information from intermediary suppliers regarding election toallow items of a supplier's goods stocked at intermediary stockinglocations of the intermediary suppliers to be used as virtualdistribution center inventory, one or more accounts of the intermediarysuppliers, and inventory of intermediary stocking locations of theintermediary suppliers, wherein the supplier comprises a manufacturer ofthe supplier's goods and the intermediary suppliers comprise independentresellers of the supplier's goods, and wherein the information regardinginventory of intermediary stocking locations of the intermediarysuppliers is provided by the intermediary suppliers in real-time astransactions are processed affecting quantities of the items of thesupplier's goods; analyzing a web based direct sales platform purchasetransaction between the supplier and an acquirer purchasing one or moreitems of the supplier's goods, the information regarding inventory ofintermediary stocking locations of the intermediary suppliers, and theinformation regarding election to allow items of the supplier's goods tobe used as virtual distribution center inventory; offering the acquirer,during the web based direct sales platform purchase transaction, alocalized item procurement fulfilment option for localized itemprocurement fulfilment of at least one item of the one or more items ofthe supplier's goods based upon the analyzing indicating that virtualdistribution center inventory suitable for use in the web based directsales platform purchase transaction is available; and converting, duringthe web based direct sales platform purchase transaction, the web baseddirect sales platform purchase transaction to processing fulfilment ofthe web based direct sales platform purchase transaction using the atleast one item of the one or more items of the supplier's goods stockedat an intermediary stocking location of a selected intermediary supplierof the intermediary suppliers, instead of using inventory of thesupplier, based upon the acquirer selecting the localized itemprocurement fulfilment during the web based direct sales platformpurchase transaction, wherein converting the web based direct salesplatform purchase transaction to processing fulfilment of the web baseddirect sales platform purchase transaction using the at least one itemof the one or more items of the supplier's goods stocked at anintermediary stocking location overrides a sequence of events otherwiseimplemented when the acquirer interacts with the supplier to procure thesupplier's goods to instead fulfill the least one item of the one ormore items of the supplier's goods stocked at the intermediary stockinglocation for providing the localized item procurement fulfilment to theacquirer, at least in part, by: performing a checkout process thatdirects payment to an account of the selected intermediary supplier,identified in the information regarding one or more accounts of theintermediary suppliers, for the at least one item; and communicating oneor more messages regarding the localized item procurement fulfilment tothe selected intermediary supplier so that the at least one item of theone or more items of the supplier's goods are fulfilled from virtualdistribution center inventory provided by the intermediary stockinglocation of the selected intermediary supplier.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the information regarding election to allow items of thesupplier's goods to be used as virtual distribution center inventoryincludes information regarding subsets of the supplier's goods that areavailable for use as the virtual distribution center inventory, whereinthe information regarding the subsets of the supplier's goods includesat least one of a threshold minimum item inventory for availability asvirtual distribution center inventory, particular types of items of thesupplier's goods an intermediary supplier elects to make available asvirtual distribution center inventory, or maximum item inventoryturnover rate for item availability as virtual distribution centerinventory.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the analyzing comprises:determining if inventory of the intermediary suppliers meets theinformation regarding subsets of the supplier's goods that are availablefor use as the virtual distribution center inventory.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the analyzing comprises: determining if items of goodsmatching the one or more items of the supplier's goods are available asvirtual distribution center inventory; determining whether proximity ofan intermediary stocking location to a location of the acquirer supportsdelivery within a specified delivery timeframe; and determining thatthere is virtual distribution center inventory suitable for providingthe localized item procurement fulfilment of the one or more items ofthe supplier's goods based at least in part on determining items ofgoods matching the one or more items of the supplier's goods areavailable as virtual distribution center inventory and determiningproximity of an intermediary stocking location to the location of theacquirer supports delivery within the specified delivery timeframe. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more messages regarding thelocalized item procurement fulfilment communicated to the selectedintermediary supplier initiates picking of the one or more items of thesupplier's goods from stock at an intermediary stocking location forshipping to or pick up by the acquirer.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the processing fulfilment of the web based direct sales platformpurchase transaction using the at least one item of the one or moreitems of the supplier's goods stocked at the intermediary stockinglocation of the selected intermediary supplier includes accessing asystem resource of the selected intermediary supplier to provide pickingand packing instructions to be provided to personnel of the intermediarystocking location.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or moremessages regarding the localized item procurement fulfilmentcommunicated to the selected intermediary supplier reserves appropriateitems of the supplier's goods from stock at a selected intermediarystocking location for fulfilling the web based direct sales platformpurchase transaction.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the processingfulfilment of the web based direct sales platform purchase transactionusing the at least one item of the one or more items of the supplier'sgoods stocked at an intermediary stocking location of the selectedintermediary supplier includes accessing an inventory management systemof the selected intermediary supplier to designate an appropriatequantity of items as reserved for localized item procurement fulfilment.9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more messages regarding thelocalized item procurement fulfilment communicated to the selectedintermediary supplier facilitates preparing the at least one item of theone or more items of the supplier's goods for shipping or pickup. 10.The method of claim 9, wherein the processing fulfilment of the webbased direct sales platform purchase transaction using the at least oneitem of the one or more items of the supplier's goods stocked at anintermediary stocking location of the selected intermediary supplierincludes accessing a system resource of the selected intermediarysupplier to print at least one of a shipping label or a packing list atthe intermediary stocking location.
 11. The method of claim 1, whereinthe one or more messages regarding the localized item procurementfulfilment communicated to the selected intermediary supplier providesinformation to personnel of the selected intermediary supplier tofacilitate delivery of the at least one item of the one or more items ofthe supplier's goods from the intermediary stocking location to alocation of the acquirer.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein theprocessing fulfilment of the web based direct sales platform purchasetransaction using the at least one item of the one or more items of thesupplier's goods stocked at an intermediary stocking location of theselected intermediary supplier includes providing information to a thirdparty to facilitate delivery of the one or more items of the supplier'sgoods from the intermediary stocking location to the location of theacquirer.
 13. A system comprising: a supplier system database storinginformation from intermediary suppliers regarding election to allowitems of a supplier's goods stocked at intermediary stocking locationsof the intermediary suppliers to be used as virtual distribution centerinventory, one or more accounts of the intermediary suppliers, andinventory of intermediary stocking locations of the intermediarysuppliers, wherein the supplier comprises a manufacturer of thesupplier's goods and the intermediary suppliers comprise independentresellers of the supplier's goods, and wherein the information regardinginventory of intermediary stocking locations of the intermediarysuppliers is provided by the intermediary suppliers in real-time astransactions are processed affecting quantities of the items of thesupplier's goods; and a supplier system configured to: analyze a webbased direct sales platform purchase transaction between the supplierand an acquirer purchasing one or more items of the supplier's goods,the information regarding inventory of intermediary stocking locationsof the intermediary suppliers, and the information regarding election toallow items of the supplier's goods to be used as virtual distributioncenter inventory; offer the acquirer, during the web based direct salesplatform purchase transaction, a localized item procurement fulfilmentoption for localized item procurement fulfilment of at least one item ofthe one or more items of the supplier's goods based upon the analyzingindicating that virtual distribution center inventory suitable for usein the web based direct sales platform purchase transaction isavailable; and convert, during the web based direct sales platformpurchase transaction, the web based direct sales platform purchasetransaction to process fulfilment of the web based direct sales platformpurchase transaction using the at least one item of the one or moreitems of the supplier's goods stocked at an intermediary stockinglocation of a selected intermediary supplier of the intermediarysuppliers, instead of using inventory of the supplier, based upon theacquirer selecting the localized item procurement fulfilment during theweb based direct sales platform purchase transaction, wherein convertingthe web based direct sales platform purchase transaction to processingfulfilment of the web based direct sales platform purchase transactionusing the at least one item of the one or more items of the supplier'sgoods stocked at an intermediary stocking location overrides a sequenceof events otherwise implemented when the acquirer interacts with thesupplier to procure the supplier's goods to instead fulfill the leastone item of the one or more items of the supplier's goods stocked at theintermediary stocking location for providing the localized itemprocurement fulfilment to the acquirer, and wherein the supplier systemconfigured to fulfill the least one item of the one or more items of thesupplier's goods stocked at the intermediary stocking location forproviding the localized item procurement fulfilment to the acquirer isconfigured, at least in part, to: perform a checkout process thatdirects payment to an account of the selected intermediary supplier,identified in the information regarding one or more accounts of theintermediary suppliers, for the at least one item; and communicate oneor more messages regarding the localized item procurement fulfilment tothe selected intermediary supplier so that the at least one item of theone or more items of the supplier's goods are fulfilled from virtualdistribution center inventory provided by the intermediary stockinglocation of the selected intermediary supplier.
 14. The system of claim13, wherein the information regarding election to allow items of thesupplier's goods to be used as virtual distribution center inventoryincludes information regarding subsets of the supplier's goods that areavailable for use as the virtual distribution center inventory, whereinthe information regarding the subsets of the supplier's goods includesat least one of a threshold minimum item inventory for availability asvirtual distribution center inventory, particular types of items of thesupplier's goods an intermediary supplier elects to make available asvirtual distribution center inventory, or maximum item inventoryturnover rate for item availability as virtual distribution centerinventory.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the supplier systemconfigured to analyze the web based direct sales platform purchasetransaction is configured to: determine if inventory of the intermediarysuppliers meets the information regarding subsets of the supplier'sgoods that are available for use as the virtual distribution centerinventory.
 16. The system of claim 13, wherein the supplier systemconfigured to analyze the web based direct sales platform purchasetransaction is configured to: determine if items of goods matching theone or more items of the supplier's goods are available as virtualdistribution center inventory; determine whether proximity of anintermediary stocking location to a location of the acquirer supportsdelivery within a specified delivery timeframe; and determine that thereis virtual distribution center inventory suitable for providing thelocalized item procurement fulfilment of the one or more items of thesupplier's goods based at least in part on determining items of goodsmatching the one or more items of the supplier's goods are available asvirtual distribution center inventory and determining proximity of anintermediary stocking location to the location of the acquirer supportsdelivery within the specified delivery timeframe.
 17. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the one or more messages regarding the localized itemprocurement fulfilment communicated to the selected intermediarysupplier initiates picking of the one or more items of the supplier'sgoods from stock at an intermediary stocking location for shipping to orpick up by the acquirer.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein thesupplier system configured to process fulfilment of the web based directsales platform purchase transaction using the at least one item of theone or more items of the supplier's goods stocked at the intermediarystocking location of the selected intermediary supplier is configuredto: access a system resource of the selected intermediary supplier toprovide picking and packing instructions to be provided to personnel ofthe intermediary stocking location.
 19. The system of claim 13, whereinthe one or more messages regarding the localized item procurementfulfilment communicated to the selected intermediary supplier reservesappropriate items of the supplier's goods from stock at a selectedintermediary stocking location for fulfilling the web based direct salesplatform purchase transaction.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein thesupplier system configured to process the web based direct salesplatform purchase transaction to facilitate fulfilment of the one ormore items of the supplier's goods using the at least one item of theone or more items of the supplier's goods stocked at an intermediarystocking location of the selected intermediary supplier is configuredto: access an inventory management system of the selected intermediarysupplier to designate an appropriate quantity of items as reserved forlocalized item procurement fulfilment.
 21. The system of claim 13,wherein the one or more messages regarding the localized itemprocurement fulfilment communicated to the selected intermediarysupplier facilitates preparing the at least one item of the one or moreitems of the supplier's goods for shipping or pickup.
 22. The system ofclaim 21, wherein the supplier system configured to process the webbased direct sales platform purchase transaction to facilitatefulfilment of the one or more items of the supplier's goods using the atleast one item of the one or more items of the supplier's goods stockedat an intermediary stocking location of the selected intermediarysupplier is configured to: access a system resource of the selectedintermediary supplier to print at least one of a shipping label or apacking list at the intermediary stocking location.
 23. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the one or more messages regarding the localized itemprocurement fulfilment communicated to the selected intermediarysupplier provides information to personnel of the selected intermediarysupplier to facilitate delivery of the at least one item of the one ormore items of the supplier's goods from the intermediary stockinglocation to a location of the acquirer.
 24. The system of claim 23,wherein the supplier system configured to process the web based directsales platform purchase transaction to facilitate fulfilment of the oneor more items of the supplier's goods using the at least one item of theone or more items of the supplier's goods stocked at an intermediarystocking location of the selected intermediary supplier is configuredto: provides information to a third party to facilitate delivery of theone or more items of the supplier's goods from the intermediary stockinglocation to the location of the acquirer.